Knocking On Heavens Door
by Huzzah-94
Summary: Life is a one way dirt road, n there's only one way to go n you know its straight to the End. Its a long road,a dusty road,a dirty road, it takes a lot of turns, n its gotta lot of pot holes, a lot of bends, and the only thing the map says about this road is that it Ends. Now we're ridin thro the jaws of Hell, jus so we can tell the Tale... (SEQUEL TO STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN)
1. Only Time Will Tell

**Chapter 1: Carry On**

* * *

**(DARYL POV)**

She was back. After all this time I finally found her…I was more than happy bout it, I really was.

How come it feels like something's still missing then?

I sat in the watch tower watching her train Carl in the court yard, it's been three months since we found and cleared the prison now. So far everything was quiet, almost too quiet for my liking really. No sign of any other groups around our area yet.

She's been teaching Carl hand to hand combat since the kid didn't know shit about defending himself without a gun, she's been spending a lot more time with the kid than anyone else, 'sides me, and sometimes Rick when he needed our help on decisions.

It didn't bother me any, the time they spent together seemed to keep them both grounded. I saw on the road Carl was gettin distant, he was gettin better with her help. He was helpin her too in a way…though I had a suspicion she was tryin to fill the void.

She wasn't ever gonna get to raise our baby…she can't teach it how to survive in this world, can't teach it how to protect itself…so she's teaching Carl.

She would've been 7 months along now… I keep picturing her with her belly swollen with my child…she would've been so beautiful. I always get a pain in my heart when I think bout it, I never thought I'd be someone who even wanted kids 'fore all this happened.

I took my eyes off her to check around the area again, this was how I always passed my day shifts on watch…I kept my eyes on her if she was outside, only lookin away to make sure there wasn't anythin 'round.

She did end up finishin her story, she told me how messed up she got after she lost our baby…she fell into a black hole for a while. Kissing Merle seemed to have shocked her out of it, only cause she knew it was wrong.

Sure I was mad at her fir it…but I know she doesn't like Merle like that, hell she wouldn't be here now if she did.

"Hey! No fair!" I heard Carl shoutin and my eyes darted over to see him lying on his back on the ground in front of my Girl.

I chuckled, she was good. Carl was growin fast he was just over a foot shorter than her now. He's in good hands, and he's gonna be a good fighter jus like her.

I liked watchin her move, she's almost back to her regular self after three months of training with the kid. For a while she didn't eat nearly enough to get her strength back…she thought I didn't notice but it wasn't hard to miss.

She was way too skinny when I found her, hell I didn't recognize her at first until I seen her face. Now that I got her to eat more and she's got most of her muscles back she almost looked like her old self again.

I liked takin watch while she was trainin cause then I had time to jus think alone. My thoughts centred on that Girl most of the time, only sometimes drifting off to my brother.

It was the middle of February now, the weather was starting to heat up…yet there's been no sign of Merle or even her brothers looking for her. Maybe we're too far off their beaten track for them to come this way, they may someday…but hopefully it'll be far in the future.

I watched her flip Carl to the ground a third time and laughed, she helped him up and patted his shoulder smiling down at the boy. She playfully ruffled his hair and jerked her head back at the prison, training was ending early today I guess.

She looked around the yard and then her eyes met mine all of a sudden, she knew I was watching them. She smirked at me and started heading over.

I watched her walk until she was out of my sight, moving my eyes to look around the yard while she climbed the stairs of the watch tower. It's been three months since we got back together, almost all our issues were worked through.

After she told me the rest of her story when we got the prison sorted out I left for a three day hunt without a word to her. She let me have my time on my own to think it through, but on the fifth day when I was on my way back, she found me.

"Rick told me you said three days…" was all she said when we broke through the bush to come face to face with each other.

She wasn't mad at me for being gone longer than I said, she had been glad I even came back. The worry and doubt in her eyes that day told me she didn't think she was good enough anymore…but she came after me anyways.

I just shrugged and tossed her a string of squirrels to carry, we shared a smile and came back home.

Home… it was still weird to call this place home, but that's what it was now. Maybe if Lori's baby comes into this world a'right I could bring up us tryin again…

I could feel her presence behind me before she even touched me, she wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me from behind while I stayed sittin on the chair. Her breath tickled my neck but I kept facin forward.

She placed soft kisses on my neck, and I had to bite my lip to stifle the groan that rumbled in my chest.

"Keep doin that an' I ain't gonna be able to finish my shift, Girl." I bit out playfully.

The past few weeks the sexual tension between us has only grown, all we've done these last month's together was kiss… our relationship was takin a lot slower route then when we first met.

"Glenn and Maggie do it all the time on watch" she said against my neck.

She hasn't pushed us havin sex at all, seemed she understood I wanted to wait, guess all girls have their limits though. Hell I was barely containing myself, especially when she wore her damn yoga pants and her tight white tank top out for practice.

I pulled her around quickly surprising her, she ended up on my lap with a slight squeal. I chuckled and she glared at me playfully but didn't have time to scold me before I pulled her into a kiss, I nibbled on her bottom lip causing her to moan.

The sound alone made me get hard and having her in my lap wasn't making it any easier.

She pulled away and I looked up at her confused before she smirked at me and got off of my lap. I was about to protest when she fell to her knees in front of me.

"Girl…ya don't have ta" I breathed out, every nerve in my body was hating me for saying that...but she had to know I don't expect anything from her like that.

"I want to" she said moving her hands slowly up my thighs. I shivered at her touch and leaned back into the chair more…this woman was gonna be the death of me.

* * *

**(SPOV)**

We've been together again for three months already and we've yet to do more than kiss…until today of course.

It's been an exhausting few months, I just figured we were both too tired at the end of the day, and Daryl seemed to wanna take things slower. I was in no position to oppose so I said nothing.

There was little to no privacy in cell block C too, put that with the fact that Daryl doesn't wanna sleep in a cell and it's pretty hard to get time alone. So I figured the perfect time would be in the watch tower, while everyone else was on lunch break.

"Consider that a preview, since ya don't wanna do anything on watch" I said as I stood up and stepped in between his legs so I could rest my arms on his shoulder lazily.

"Damn woman, where did that come from?" he asked, his voice deep and rumbly, his eyes looking up at me in a kind of haze.

"What? I can't jus give my man a lil somethin while he works to make sure we're all safe?" I replied and while I talked he wrapped his arms around my hips and brought me closer into him, his head resting on my chest.

"Well then, ya better find a good place for this to continue tonight. Cause ya can bet I'm gonna be returnin the favour." He said placing a kiss over my heart.

"Rick wants to start clearing the rest of the prison tomorrow, with Lori's due date getting closer he wants to find the infirmary and the cafeteria might even still have some good food in it." I said pushing his hair back out of his face.

His hair was always in his eyes now, but I liked it. His skin was tan and his muscles were only getting more defined by the day… honestly I couldn't picture him being any other way. He always had a layer of dirt on him and his hair was usually greasy…but he was mine.

Hell until we find the showers we all usually had some dirt on us too, not as much as Daryl's but still. I shook my head back to make my hair go behind my shoulder, mine had grown to just past my shoulder now… I was thinking on cutting it again sometime.

"After three months of going on runs, and making the fences as strong as we can…he finally wants to move further into the prison. I told him we should ages ago. Guess the flashlights n things we found on the last run'll help though" Daryl shrugged, I pulled away again only so I could sit across his lap like I had been before.

"Yeah, it'll be better now that we can all have one. It wouldn't have been that easy to clear things out if we only had one light to the group." I said, Daryl knew I agreed with him. I stood right beside him telling Rick we needed to start clearing the rest of the prison already too.

Our leader had insisted on waiting. We knew the tombs were filled with walkers, we could hear them every once and a while. It would be a dangerous task…and really if we didn't need to find the infirmary we could probably leave it.

We have one safe cell block to ourselves, there's not much need for us to risk our lives to clear anything else out. Except for Lori…we needed everything we could get for her delivery.

It's by the grace of god that she hasn't gone into premature labor, she's about 35 weeks along now if I had to guess. Just one more month to go, I had a hard time being excited that she's gonna have her baby…she's gotten this far along with it.

I knew she was way too skinny for a pregnant woman, I've been slipping her half of my rations since I got back. Daryl noticed but didn't say anything as long as I ate everything I had left.

"We'll try again someday" his words brought me out of my head and I looked at him a little surprised.

How the hell did he know what I was thinking?

"How?" I asked, there were so many meanings behind that one word… like- how are we gonna try again in this world? How will we ever be safe enough to even consider it? How can we move on from the one we lost?

"Ya get this look on yer face…when yer thinkin bout it, bout Lori, bout ours…It's the same look ya had when ya told me about it" he said looking out across the prison yard.

With us being back together it was easier to handle to hole in my heart, it still hurt sometimes…but I knew everything was going to be alright as long as he was still in my life. I yearned to feel a life growing inside of me again…it was a feeling I didn't think on while I had it before…but now I missed it.

"We'll try again someday" I said leaning against him more heavily.

It was quiet while we sat there in each other's arms, all the words needed to be said were passed through our touch. He knew I loved him and that I needed him in my life, just like I knew the same from him.

"What are we gonna do...if they find us?" I said breaking the silence after almost an hour of us just sitting there keeping watch.

"First of all, I'm gonna git some time alone with Merle…gotta have a brotherly chat with him. Second yer gonna talk to yer brothers…and depending on what their intentions are… we send them on their way. Or…or it'll break out in a full out war. One thing I know fir sur…they ain't takin ya from me again" his voice carried the conviction of a man that was willing to fight for what was his.

"Hey! You two better be decent up there!" Glenn yelled up the stairs breaking our quaint little world apart.

"We are! Some of us can actually keep it in our pants when there's work to be done ya know" I yelled back laughing. If Glenn had come up earlier he woulda seen a lot more of Daryl then he wanted.

"Rick sent me to get ya guys. He wants to go over the game plan for tomorrow" Glenn said after he got to the top of the stairs.

"Agh fine, go git Carl for watch then. I ain't leavin us without a set o' eyes on our surroundin's" Daryl said rolling his head back to look at Glenn.

After Glenn left, Daryl looked back at me, his eyes piercing into mine with the intensity I've only ever seen from him. I couldn't lose him, not again…we've kept each other alive these past few months, and I was gonna spend the rest of my life making sure he survived.

No matter what I was gonna stand by his side, we managed to get through the hurdles almost unscathed. I knew we could make it through whatever life threw at us next.

"They ain't takin you away from me again either" I said pulling him to me for one more kiss before Carl got here.

I already told him everything I knew about the Governor and Woodbury, we both agreed that if we ever ran into them it wouldn't be pretty…the Governor doesn't seem like the type to wanna live in peace. This was the first conversation we've ever had about our brothers though.

We'd stayed away from bringing them up for a while now, but I needed to know what we did if or when we ever came face to face with them again.

Daryl told me he didn't want me alone with Merle ever again, Merle broke his trust…hell he broke my trust too. Daryl was furious with his older brother, I was a little bit scared of what's going to happen when he sees him again.

I knew one thing for curtain, nothing was ever gonna go back to how it was before.

It wasn't ever gonna be the three of us against the world again. Merle screwed up. **I screwed up**…and now Daryl and I are left to pick up the pieces.

It had been three months though, maybe Merle moved on now, maybe my brothers just accepted that I wasn't going back, that I didn't belong there. I sure as hell wasn't going to go back there and check though.

Only time would tell.

* * *

**Ahh okay so there's the first chapter! **

**I did a little time jump, and I let them be in the prison for longer then in the show...they've been there for three months, and i'm gonna pick up around the beginning of the third season now**

**I found it funny that I wrote that lil bit about carl not knowing how to defend himself without a gun last month... and then watching the new episode :P i'm soooo happy the show is back though! it was a good first episode, even tho Carl was kinda a little douche... I enjoyed the pudding part.**

**so I am thinking on having some flash backs also, maybe on Daryl's take on what happened at the little cabin at the end of the last story. and of course i'll have a chapter showing what Merle is up to as well! I wont leave Merle outa it for too long :)**

**now as to weather or not Merle finds them...i'm still debating on if it'll be sooner OR later... so review and let me know what u think**


	2. A Bit Sadistic

**Chapter 2: But Efficient**

* * *

"Okay so we'll go in the same formation we had when we cleared the yard, it'll be a tighter squeeze in the halls but it'll be safer to have eyes on every angle down there." Rick started, once Daryl and I got inside.

It was a small meeting, Rick got Carol and Beth to stay with Lori so it was him, Glenn, T-Dog, Maggie, Hershel, Daryl and I standing around one of the round tables with some blue prints of the prison spread out over the top.

Maggie found them in the warden's office at the top of the stairs where Rick found the keys when we first got here.

"Why don't Daryl and I take a different route, we can clear everything faster if there's two teams. Me n Daryl can move quicker if it's just the two of us also…you guys can go in with the formation better in the halls with us not there. There'll be more room, and we can find the infirmary faster" I said making sure to play that last part, Rick knew we needed to find that one room the most.

Daryl didn't object to the idea, I knew he'd like it better if we were on our own. He didn't like having everyone trampling after him…even though that formation worked pretty well when we were clearing the yard.

This was gonna be inside, in an enclosed space. There was more of a possibility of them tripping over each other in the smaller halls…we couldn't chance someone tripping on someone else's feet if we had to run from a herd.

"Hershel can handle being the medic if anything happens, if it's serious I'm sure I can take care of it once we all get back here. Sound carries in here…I'll hear if ya guys shout for me" I added, so far no one else made to offer any other opinion.

I saw Daryl nod in my peripheral vision, he's told me on runs he likes it when we work together… we've been out a lot on our own and we do work the best as a pair.

Rick sighed and nodded "A'right, ya two'll go left and we'll take the right" he said, I could tell he didn't really like the idea but he knew we did work good together so there wasn't a lot for him to worry about.

"T, I want you n Glenn to get the riot gear ready this afternoon. Daryl, you n Sam can go through the inventory of all the weapons we took off the guards before. Take out what ya think we can use down there for now. Maggie you're on watch in tower 1, I'll take the next shift after ya" Rick said.

I wasn't really shocked that Rick had taken to being the leader, he was always the one directing us in the general right direction before. Now he got way to serious about it though, Daryl told me he made a big speech just after we lost the farm.

This wasn't a democracy anymore…. Though he still looked to Daryl and I for advice sometimes…it wasn't like it had been before.

"Rick, I think Samara and I should teach Carol and Beth some first aid. Encase anything happens to either of us…they can be our back-ups so to speak." Herschel said.

The old man always had some pretty good ideas, he had unknowingly taken over Dale's old position in the group. The one who could see what was going on before even being told.

"That sounds like a good idea, you two can talk about it more and decide when ya wanna do that. For today everyone jus carry out what was assigned to you" Rick said with a nod before he turned and walked out the door.

We all fallowed his lead and left without another word, the time for chit chat wasn't right now…we all knew to save the talking until meal times. Even then it was usually quiet unless Beth was asked to sing something.

Sooner or later someone was gonna have to talk to Rick, the group couldn't carry on like this for much longer. Not to mention it wasn't hard to see that our leader was slowly breaking at the seams, I was afraid that if something happened that Rick might just fall completely off the edge.

I shared a look with Daryl as we headed to the cell we put all the guards' weapons in before. He knew of my worries already and nodded his head.

"Hershel would be the best bet…I dunno if he'd listen to us…" Daryl said once we got to the cell at the end of the block.

"Maybe even Carl? I can see what he thinks of it…of his dad stepping down for a bit, not being the leader. I think we can handle things for a while, while he gets himself back in order. You, Hershel and I, all that time on the road didn't do him good…he's teetering on the edge Dare… it's only a matter of time before he falls" I whispered, I hated that sound carried in here.

It would be a lost cause to try get him to listen to Lori, it was obvious that they weren't doing anywhere near good in their relationship.

Daryl filled me in on that when I asked were Shane was… I had guessed when we were on the farm that there used to be something between them, but now it was confirmed, Lori had an affair with Rick's old best friend.

Then Rick killed Shane that night the farm got over run, since then Rick and Lori's relationship has never been the same I guess.

"We'll both be here if he does" Daryl said shrugging.

I smiled at him when he said that…that's why I loved him so much…he was loyal, damn it he was loyal. You were one lucky son of a bitch if Daryl Dixon decided you were worth his loyalty, his trust. I still had a hard time believing I was worth a damn thing to him.

"What?" he asked, giving me that small half smile that made me weak in the knees.

"I still have a hard time believing I'm here with you…sometimes I think if someone pinches me I'll wake up in that god awful town again, without you" I said biting my lip, I looked down at the bottom bunk where we laid most of the guns.

"That won't ever happen Girl…told ya before, they ain't taking ya 'gain" he said taking the couple steps to close the distance between us.

He put his finger under my chin and tilted my head up to meet his gaze. He stared at me and smiled again, I couldn't help but smile right back before he leaned in to kiss me. It was moments like this that made me forget how life really was outside.

I could die happy if all I had to do was stay in this room with this man for the rest of my life.

But that couldn't happen…not only cause there were people out there that needed us, but also cause the room we were standing in had an assortment of heavy artillery filling the bunk bed that we had to sort through.

The kiss was slow and gentle, though it only lasted a couple of seconds it calmed me down enough to be able to focus on the job at hand.

"So what do you think we'll need? I don't understand why we needa go through this stuff for tomorrow. I thought Rick didn't want us using guns?" I asked kneeling so I could go through the guns. The top bunk held the grenades, smoke bombs, and police batons etc.

"Naw, no guns…specially in the tombs. But we can get a few of these for the others to use" Daryl said holding up a baton.

"Yeah, n I guess it wouldn't hurt to know how much ammo we have for these too" I said picking up a riffle to inspect.

"Knives would be better than batons though…quicker kill. I'll see what Rick says" Daryl said mostly to himself as he started separating the things on the top bunk.

When he muttered the word 'knives' my hand instinctively went to the one hanging at my hip. The one my brothers pulled all their money together to get me one Christmas…the one I thought I lost back in Atlanta.

**(Flashback)**

_We were lying on the small prison mattress Daryl had dragged outa one of the cells when we first got here. _

_This was actually the first night we both got to bed at the same time, it was nice to just lay in his arms with my head on his chest and relax for once. I cherished it really…cause I knew tomorrow was gonna be hard on both of us._

"_Maybe if I get time I can clear out that wardens office for us…it'd be more private then this perch" I mumbled into his chest, his arm tightened around me for a second as his response._

"_Ya know I'll be fine tomorrow…jus like I know you will be too. We'll meet back here for dinner, right?" I asked moving to rest my chin on his chest so I could see his face. The light of the half-moon outside was barely enough for me to be able to see his face clearly but I could still tell he was looking back at me._

_His blue eyes shining ever so slightly back at mine, I took the time to memorize him in the pale moon light, just like he was doing to me._

"_Promise" he breathed out, his voice just above a whisper._

"_Promise" I nodded, moving his hand so I could lace my fingers into his. He wasn't one to do much in the way of intimate touches…but he let me when we were alone and he held me at night. _

"_Oh, I got somethin fer ya… I don't want ya goin out there with only yer bow to protect ya… and I don't want ya to be mad at me fer this" Daryl said as he sat up making me untangle myself from him. He got up and went over to his bag._

_All of our bags were still packed, out of habit…we weren't used to staying in a place for long. Even when I was at Woodbury I had never really unpacked my bag._

"_What is it Dare?" I asked sitting up kind of skeptical, why would I get mad at him?_

"_Now…jus remember…I wasn't really sure it was yers, when we first met. And then shit happened and I always forgot to give it to ya…then ya were gone all those months. It felt like the only thing I had left of you…I always kept it near me, like Merle's bike" he spoke as he rummaged through his bag until he finally produced something wrapped in a dirty white rag._

_I watched him looking down at the rag and then to me, he slowly held it out for me to take. I frowned and reached out to grab it, the familiar weight made me even more confused._

_Unwrapping the rag I gasped when the silver blade of my long lost friend came into view. I lifted it up and tested the weight in my hand and smiled…the little black initials carved into the bottom only confirmed that it was indeed my knife._

"_How the hell do you have this?" I asked, only just realizing that Daryl was the one to give it to me._

"_I…uh, I picked it up just inside the door of the rooftop we found Merle on…I didn't know it was yers. After that I kinda forgot about it, until I lost ya…I found it in my bag. Kept it on me the whole time…jus kinda remembered it again now actually" he said looking down and biting his thumb nail…he was nervous._

"_Thank you….thank you! I thought for sure I lost it!" I said excitedly as I jumped up and into his arms._

_He stumbled backwards in surprise, he seemed shocked for a second until he wrapped his arms around me too. I wasn't angry at him…how could I be? I thought the knife was long gone by now… at least now that I had it again I didn't have to rely just on my bow and arrows._

"_So yer not mad I kept it so long?" he asked setting me down on my feet again._

"_Fuck no, I'm jus glad I have it now…. n it's kinda sweet ya kept it on ya when I was gone." I said smiling as I leaned up to kiss his cheek. Seeing his face flush red I smiled harder before I moved to press a kiss to his lips._

"_Now let's git ta bed… we've got a long ass day tomorrow. I for one want it to come and go as quickly as possible" I said unwrapping my arms from his neck and moving away from him. I went n placed my knife beside my bow and turned to see Daryl already in bed waiting for me with open arms._

"_If I promise to come back with a ton of fresh meat, safely…will ya come back with all that doctor shit, in one piece?" he mumbled sleepily after we both settled in for the night._

"_Of course Dare…I thought we already established that" I said breathing in his scent as I yawned._

"_Jus wanted to make sure" he said pulling me closer to him._

**(End of flashback)**

I smiled at the memory, glad I had things like that to remember now that we've been together longer. If anything bad happened…at least I can say I had some good times with the man I love.

"We can take a grenade each too…jus as a last resort…there's no tellin how many walkers are down there. one grenade per group, if we git swallowed into a herd and can't get out at all…might as well take as many of them bastards down with us as we can" I said after a long silence of us just going through the weapons.

"I like tha way ya think Princess" he said looking down at me with a grin.

I rolled my eyes at the name, he liked bugging me with pet names…he knows so far the only ones I've liked are Girl and Babe… still he liked picking on me with 'Princess' and 'Baby-Doll'. The only reason I liked Girl is cause that's what he's always called me…and Babe was jus really simple.

"A bit sadistic…but still kinda efficient" he added grabbing two grenades to add to our pile of batons.

* * *

**okay so I COMPLETLY lost the will to write in the past few weeks :( and i'm sooo sorry!**

**I had a really really really crazy week last week, and I think that shocked me outa my funk. it was pretty fun and probably bad lol but at least im writing again now.**

**I'm thinking on having a Merle chapter next, let me know if that's what ya guys want... or i'll keep a hold on the Merle chapter and keep writing about Sam n Daryl :)**

**I think I jus needed that one crazy week...cause I just realized i'm working soo hard on my schooling...and the only reason i'm working so hard at it is so I can go to a even bigger better (scarier) school :S lol I jus freaked out for a bit...but hopefully i'm back on track now XD**


	3. We are Both Lost

**Chapter 3: And We Won't be Found**

* * *

**(Merle)**

Its been three months since she left me, I knew it would happen eventually… after the initial shock wore off I wasn't surprised to find her gone.

I told her brothers, and they weren't surprised she left either…though we did plan a search party for her, her trail went cold after a couple of hours. She was one of those people that if they wanted to disappear they did, we all knew she wasn't gonna be found until she wanted to be.

I kept our room, my room…but I hardly stayed in it now, I had a couple one night stands with a few women around town…none of them ever stuck, and they knew I wasn't gonna stay with them. I usually walked home in the dim light of the sunrise every morning.

"Nicolaye wants you to read him a story before he goes to sleep…he likes it when you do it lately" Ange's voice rang out through the small apartment.

Lately she's been making me have supper with her and her son, sometimes Samara's brothers would come over too.

"Agh really? Can' ya git one of his uncles ta do it?" I grumbled from my slouched position at the table.

It's not that I didn't like the kid, but since the Girl left I was tryin my hardest to not get involved with anyone else here. This kid and his mom were makin it damn hard for me though.

"He likes it better when you do it Merle, you jus gotta accept the fact that we're in your life now. Sam wasn't the only stubborn one in this family. Nicolaye wants you to be his friend…so just learn to live with it" she said smirk on her face.

She was the exact opposite of the Girl, yet there were things that still reminded me of her. Angela was tiny, and she had long chocolate brown hair down to her waist and her eyes were dark brown. Now Samara was pretty short too, but Ange was petite, she must've came up to just over 5 feet and she was probably a buck-10 soaking wet.

Where Samara was tough and trained her whole life to survive, Angela was soft and nurturing, she was the momma bear of the group. That was the thing that reminded me the most of the Girl…they would both go to hell and back for the ones they loved.

Man, and she was a little spitfire, despite how small she was I would hate to get on her bad side. She loved her son more than anything…and with the boy's dad gone now, I could see Angela was tryin her hardest to be both parents for the young boy.

"A'right then, one story. If that kid ain't sleepin after that it's not my problem" I sighed pushing myself up outa the chair.

I walked down the short hallway to the kid's room, the door was open and I could see the kid sitting up in his small bed waiting for me. The way his eyes lit up when he saw me gave me a weird feeling…it also made me sad for the boy, he didn't have his daddy to read to him anymore…he jus had me.

And fuck it all…I was a poor substitute.

The kid deserved more, but if he wanted me to be his friend I wasn't gonna be the one to let him down, he's lost too much in his little life already. If I couldn't be there for the Girl…then I'd be there for this boy and his mom.

As much as I could be anyways… I sure as hell wasn't gonna put as much of myself into this as I did with the girl. Nothin good came from that, so I wasn't gonna go down that road again.

I walked towards him and ruffled his reddish brown hair as I sat on the edge of his little bed. His brown eyes shone up at me just like his mother's did when she smiled. Apparently he looked just like his daddy…jus his eyes were his mom's.

"Ya gone read ta me?" he asked holding up his worn copy of some sorta Dr. Sues book. His accent was heavy and I wouldn't admit it was adorable to listen to his little 6 year old self string words into a sentence.

"Yea, boy I am…" was the only reply he got before I took the book from him.

Sam brought it up to Ange that Nick was behind in his development, she stated it very professionally one night after dinner, once the kid was in bed of course… she hadn't been that emotionless yet. She explained he was probably withdrawing 'cause of the loss of his dad, she said not to encourage his baby talk.

Nicolaye rarely spoke now actually…but it was just a phase, I knew it wouldn't last long. He talked to me, his cousin, and his mom occasionally…so I knew it was only a matter of time before he continued on like a normal kid.

The story was simple and short, some sorta 1 fish, 2 fish bullshit…the boys eyes were getting heavier with ever page I flipped though so that was good.

I had a "date" with this girl named Cindy later tonight, so I wanted to get outa here as soon as possible…not that I didn't wanna keep her waitin or nothin, naw nothing like that, it was purely selfish reasons.

I got up and sat the book down on the bedside table, making sure to be quiet as I slowly walked outa the room. Last time I had to read him a story he woke up on me walkin out and the torn puppy dog look he gave me made me have to stay longer.

He was obviously related to Samara…it had to be some kinda god damn curse that they could get me to do just about anything.

Fuck whatever god was up there for leading this family into my life.

It's been the worst yet best thing that's ever happened to me…it differs day to day weather I'm thankful or pissed off about it.

"Yer welcome, he's sleepin" I snapped quietly to the small woman who was cleaning off the table.

"Ya can stay ya know…I'll make some coffee if ya want" she said gently. Wiping her hands on the rag that hung over her shoulder.

"Naw, I've got a… a prior engagement" I said smirking so she'd know just what I meant, I didn't want her thinkin I wanted any part in this little family of hers.

"Stay Merle" she said firmer, she wasn't begging me…she was just flat out telling me.

It wasn't hard to see she was lonely, she was tired, and she was looking after her 6 year old son practically by herself. Her words shocked me in place…she was actually telling me to stay…no one has ever said that to me before.

Samara didn't want me…she left. What good was I doing wallowing in self-pity? I was a fucking Dixon…we didn't give two shits weather or not a girl wanted us, there were always other girls.

And the one standing in front of me now wanted me to stay.

It popped up in my mind that she didn't know Samara wasn't mine, none of them knew… so she thought we both lost our other halves… granted Sam left willingly, and she wasn't mine to begin with. Foster didn't wanna leave them.

I wasn't gonna stop her though, as she slowly closed the distance between us. Even though it was for different reasons…we both lost the one we truly loved.

_Well we'll kiss for that's how it begins,  
We'll embrace just to warm our skins.  
I'll think of her and you'll think of him._

Everything in my body screamed that this was wrong, but she was willing… I couldn't have the Girl, so why couldn't I have the woman standing before me? She was here and even if it was for the wrong reasons, she wanted me too. She wanted me to stay and I couldn't see why I should say no to that.

_And we'll talk to keep the silence from our ears,_  
_And we'll laugh because we're so close to tears,_  
_We're just lonely, you know, that's why we're here._

"So…do you want the coffee now?" she giggled lightly after we broke apart.

Her cheeks were flushed and I smirked at her again, giving a quick glance back to make sure I closed the kid's door. It wouldn't be good if he woke up now that's for sure.

"Screw the coffee, bring that sweet lil ass back over here. Ya ready for ol' Merle to rock yer world t'night Darlin?" I spoke not waiting for her to come back to me I walked over and roughly pulled her in for another kiss.

It wasn't hard for me to revert back into my old self…well as far as I could go at least, I didn't have any of my ol' buddies around to supply me with any of the good stuff no more. But I knew this girl was gonna be different…with the way her son always wanted me around… I knew this couldn't jus be a one night stand kinda deal.

_'Cause you don't taste like you should,_  
_And you don't fit in my arms like she would._  
_Lying in the dark, it's understood:_  
_We are both lost._  
_And we won't be found._

It was painfully obvious that we didn't belong together…but that didn't stop us.

We needed comfort, and we were both willing to offer that to each other. She didn't feel right in my arms… but I knew she needed to be held when it was all over. I held Girly when we were on the road a lot, she told me so many times how much she missed Daryl. I could hold Ange too if that's what she needed.

_We will wake up with each other in our paws,  
You cover over white bits like I've not seen them before.  
We'll say goodbye and then we'll say no more._

My eyes snapped open seconds before the sun started to slip through the thin curtain of the room, the way my body jerked in surprise from being pulled so suddenly from sleep woke up the small warm body that was pressed against my side all night.

She sat up slowly and stretched, pulling the blanket with her when she realized it slipped off her naked body. I let my eyes skim over the pale smoothness of her back seconds before she covered herself again. That was another thing that made her so different from Samara…Angela was pale and almost shy of her body sometimes.

She stood up with the blanket wrapped around her, leaving me in bed with only the sheet. She gathered the clothes silently as I watched her, her eyes only meeting mine to pass me my clothes.

"I'm gonna go get breakfast ready…if ya want ya can go get Nick up when yer ready… he'd prolly like wakin up n seein ya here" she said with a faint smile gracin her lips.

Well at least she wasn't kicking my ass outa the door…I thought for sure all I'd here come outa her mouth would be 'Bye'. I nodded at her words though the tight feeling in my chest was telling me to hightail it back to my room. I said I wasn't gonna have any part in this little family…but here I was.

She grabbed her clothes and left me alone in her room, I listed at the soft thud of the door closing behind her slowly. Looking at the clock above the door I sighed when I saw it was almost 6 am, I was usually getting up an' sneakin home right now.

The others never woke up this early…but I guess cause ain't none of em have lil children like Ange does.

I replayed last night in my head and tried my hardest to come up with any shred of regret. I couldn't find any. Usually I have at least a tiny bit of regret in the morning, not that I let it get to me…but it's usually always there in the back of my head.

There was no regret, I wasn't gonna stay for breakfast though, that jus seemed to be crossin some sorta line that I was positive I didn't wanna cross right now.

_Cause hearts won't buy love and nor will they sell,  
And there is no love in this hotel.  
Though we're walking home we know too well  
we are both lost  
and we won't be found._

She was my compass,  
He was your map,  
We've come too far to be turning back.

* * *

**As soon as I heard this song I knew it had to apply to the Merle in my story somehow someway... sometime... lol I've had this song for a couple months now. **

**song credit- Passenger: The Last Unicorn **

**I was kinda sad that I only got one review on that last chapter... lol I know not much is happening in the story yet, everythin is jus taking its time so far :P I was actually thinking on putting Merle with Angela for a while, while I was writing the other story it jus came to mind. **

**hope u guys don't mind the pairing, n their relationship isn't gonna be the conventional type per say... I'm just writing it how its coming to me right now so jus hang in there for me for a bit :)**

**so... one review... PLEASE review ppl so I know if I should continue with this lol, give me ur insight too so I can also know if i'm heading in the right direction with this, and I NEED your guys' input on the whole thing I have goin with Merle now :P **

**not much info has really been given in these first three chapters I know, but it does get better I promise... lol I've jus been setting things up really. I like the pairing I made in this chapter I can see it going far if you guys like it too :)**


	4. Good spirits?

**Chapter 4: hell of a day**

* * *

**(Back at the prison)**

We set out this morning with good spirits, thinking that even though there were probably lots of walkers still in the prison that we could handle it as long as we stuck to the plan.

Two groups, two directions, one shared goal- clear the tombs and find the infirmary and cafeteria.

Everything went perfect on mine and Daryl's end, we had just finished putting down a small herd of 10 walkers that were bunched together in the hallway when we spotted that fateful Red Cross painted on a sign along with an arrow pointing further down the hall.

We were about to head towards it when yelling echoed around us and we both froze. Our eyes wide with the knowledge of what that means for the other group.

Without a single word we both turned tail and ran in the direction the yelling came from, my blood ran cold as soon as the shouting stopped…it was never good when it went silent after those bone chilling sounds came from the people you loved.

I wasn't afraid to admit I loved this group now…they were my family, I haven't opened up to many of them yet but I still loved them. Carl and Daryl were the main people I came in contact with, then there was Rick and Glenn who I've talked with and gone on runs with while Daryl was hunting of course… the others I was working my way up to.

* * *

**(Three hours later)**

"Hey…Girl, come here" I heard his rough voice and I looked up to see him sitting on the stairs.

It took me hours to get Hershel stable again, I went through a lot of sheets and towels trying to keep everything clean. I was able to stitch up a couple of his veins, he was already fully in shock by the time we found them in the cafeteria.

They had him laid out on a trolley ready to transport him back for me. After Daryl and I cleared the walkers away from the door we were able to get him back to the cell block in no time. Time was a precious thing and I knew there was only so much time left for the old man.

If he had been a bit younger and healthier I would've thought about cauterizing the stump that used to be his foot…but I didn't wanna risk his heart giving out on us.

His daughters were now sitting at his bedside and Carol was gathering the cloths soaked red that were scattered around the room. I was in a daze walking out of his cell, blood covered my arms and I could feel some on my face too.

"Ya A'right?" I heard Daryl ask again and I looked to see he was now standing in front of me. I felt his hands grabbing my arms gently and I let the sound of his voice and the feeling of his touch calm me.

I nodded, "he's gonna be fine…" I said feeling the scratchy way my voice came out, I had been yelling around at people telling them what to get me. It was by sheer luck that my medic bag was still filled with everything that we needed.

I was glad I always made sure we had everything we could ever possibly need in that area. Plus those runs I went on with Glenn helped a lot…we almost didn't even need to find the infirmary.

Even with how the world is now, it's been a while since I've been in practice. Working in the ER I did a lot of cases like this…but it was totally different performing on someone so important to the group, I just kept thinking that we can't afford to lose him.

"Come on…lets git ya cleaned up" he wrapped one arm around me and started leading me outside.

We went over to one of the water pumps Glenn and Daryl rigged up so we could have water, it was a temporary one but it worked all the same. He had me sit down on the grass before he went over to fill the bucket, I looked around the yard and sighed, we were virtually safe here.

Things were still gonna happen though, we were never gonna be truly safe anywhere in this world. We almost lost one of our own today, his future was still unsure, he could get an infection or maybe he might not even pull through this…

Daryl kneeled down beside me with the bucket and pulled his rag out from the back of his pants.

"Ya know... when I was lil, I use ta run off ta the woods…whenever my dad managed to drag his drunk ass back home. It took me a couple a years to be able to out run the bastard…but when I was able I always ran to this lil creek I found, way the hell in the middle of nowhere. Or…least it seemed that way" his voice was gruff and quiet as he told me about his past.

As he spoke he gently cleaned the drying blood that seemed to cling to every inch of my skin. I was so glad that Daryl was here…he was being sweet and it seemed he knew exactly what I needed after the day I had.

My thoughts fully focused on his story, his voice soothing my shaken nerves.

"I'd swim around there for hours, sometimes not headin home til the moon was high up in the sky…I tried to wait as long as I could so the ol' man would be passed out when I got back…." He paused and I watched his eyes go out of focus. He was thinking too hard on his past.

"Dare" I whispered bringing a bloody hand up to his cheek, I touched him lightly and turned his face to look at me. He flinched lightly but when he heard me say his name again he relaxed and looked at me.

"I was 15 when Merle brought home that crossbow one summer, figure he stole it from somewhere…I didn' much care. It was the first time he ever got me anythin, 'fore that I'd taught myself how to make snares...Merle never stayed aroun' for long. As long as I could 'member I was fendin for myself" he said as he grabbed my hand that was on his face to wipe away the red.

"Did ya teach yerself how ta shoot?" I asked, I was curios now that he's let me in about his past. I had to be careful and not push too hard though.

"Hell yea, first thing I shot was a rabbit. Took me a while to be able to get squirrel, but once I got the hang of it I was a lot better fed that's for damn sure" he said smirking slightly, I was happy he got away from the terrible memory that almost pulled him into some sorta trance.

There would be a time for him to tell me, when he's ready…it was way too easy to see in his eyes that he wasn't ready to dig that deep into his mind quite yet.

"My brothers taught me with a sling shot when I was 5, gradually moved up as the years went on. They all wanted me to use a gun…I liked the bow more, it just felt better in my hands." I shrugged, smiling at the memory.

Our childhoods were very much different, but we could always reminisce over hunting, and our bows.

We talked back and forth about the first game we shot, what was our best shot so far. He finished cleaning me up and I took the rag from him before he could protest I started wiping his face off too.

He had the regular layer of grime on his skin and the bloody hand print I left on his cheek earlier too. The splatter of walker blood from our kills in the tombs still littered his clothes, I'd need to do our laundry soon.

Once we were both relatively cleaner, Daryl sat down and pulled me to sit between his legs, my back resting against his chest. I turned my head to look at him and watched him looking out into the field, after the long day we had him and I still pulled through.

We talked and kept each other grounded, I took a deep breath and relaxed back into him with a small smile on my face.

We actually got to sit there in silence for a couple of minutes before I felt him give a big sigh, we had our half an hour to collect ourselves…now we had to get back and deal with whatever other problems there were.

"There's somethin else, while ya were takin care of Hershel…I guess there were inmates stuck in the cafeteria" Daryl said while he lazily moved one of his hands up and down my arm. I knew he didn't want this moment to end, cause I didn't wanna ever move from this spot too.

"How did that work out?" I asked leaning my head back onto his shoulder and looking at him.

"Jus fuckin peachy a' course. Dumb assholes…one of em almost got Rick killed while we were helping the bastards clear a cell block… Rick killed him. One of em didn' listen when we said to stick together down there…he got bit, 'nother one ran off" as he spoke I could feel his chest rumble slightly in anger.

"Only three of em?" I asked sitting up and stretching.

"Naw, two of em survived… Rick tried to run after the one that ditched…but I guess he's just gone now. The last two were given the option of leavin or stickin to themselves in their own block, they chose to stay" he nodded his head slightly.

"I should go check on Hershel, n you should check in on Rick… I'll meet ya in the guard tower for our shift on watch?" I yawned out the last part.

It was late in the afternoon now, Daryl and I were gonna be relieving T-dog from watch until supper. I was glad it would be a short shift, it was originally just mine but Daryl offered to join me. After Carl and Carol alternating throughout today and then with what happened to Hershel, T was the only one to offer to take watch this afternoon.

Glenn went to give the guy a couple breaks every now and then…but other than that it was T-dog there all afternoon.

Daryl let me in on all this… because I had no idea what happened while I was in that room keeping our resident senior citizen alive. Rick, Daryl, and Glenn took care of the inmates, I was unsure on how I felt about having two of them staying in the same place we were…but I'd figure that out after.

We got up and separated from each other, each nodding a goodbye we left to do our little tasks.

* * *

**okay... so im hella tired right now... but I'm gonna try post two more chapters tonight... I for sure have one more to post tonight though.**

**i'm terribly sorry for the long waits between chapters, my life's been getting awfully busy this year... :L I LOVE writing and it makes me sad when I cant write more and post chapters for u guys :(**

**but life comes first I guess... so I'm gonna try get two more chapters out tonight at least... I hope u guys aren't mad and decide to leave this story, I always try write whenever I can.. i'm never sure when I can of course, but I do love this story so I WILL continue it for as long as I can :P**

**idea's always pop into my head at random times ^.^ I have plans for both the Dixon brothers and Samara, and the whole group at the prison :) just contemplating the Woodbury group for now**


	5. The Definition of the word MAN

**Chapter 5: = Daryl Dixon**

* * *

"Sam n I are gonna head out tomorrow… hunt, scavenge, I dunno…but we needa git outa here for a day or two. I'll get her to talk to Beth n Carol bout some medical stuff n they can handle things til we get back" I said to Rick quietly.

We sat at one of the round tables in our gathering place below the warding's office.

"Um…alright, it wouldn't hurt to stock up on more food. Is it really wise to take our only medic away right now though? With Hershel and Lori's days away from delivering, I would feel better if she stays here until the baby's born" Rick said scratching at his beard.

He was in charge yea…but usually when it came to me and Samara he knew he couldn't boss us around. We fallowed his "orders" of course, but when I came to when we wanna go out n hunt he let us decide that.

"Why don't ya take Carl or Glenn? I know they both've been itchin for ya to teach em more" he added and I jus raised a brow at his suggestion.

This wasn't bout getting food, or lootin fer supplies…naw this was bout gettin out of here with my woman, getting some much needed alone time, having some quiet time with jus US. It's been a long time since it was jus me n her out on a run, after the day we had today I knew we needed it.

"I ain't askin fer yer permission Rick, an' I ain't takin any suggestions. She hasn't had to do any big procedure like that prolly since before the world went to shit, she needs to git outa these fences n take a breather. If ya haven't noticed she's been by that wife of yers for the past month and a half! She hasn't gone out in a long while" I stood up and paced back and forth as I talked.

"Fine, one night…I expect ya guys back the next night. We're a family Daryl, we gotta stick together…ya know we need ya guys. Now more than ever" he sighed after he finished talking and I nodded my head once before I walked away to find my Girl.

I haven't talked to her bout this yet but I had a feelin she'd appreciate a trip outa the fences.

We could find some more hunting supplies n see if there's any food left in any towns near the prison, Glenn's been leading small groups out to the surrounding towns in the past three months. I was usually hunting or helpin fortify the fences, I've only been out to check houses with Samara a couple times.

Before she got stuck stayin here with Lori… seemed like ages ago really.

* * *

**(SPOV)**

I was surprised when Daryl asked me if I wanted to go on a run tomorrow, I smiled too big and I knew I seemed too eager… it had been over a month since I left the prison, but I did have a reason to stay.

"Lori though… she's days away from delivery. We can't risk me not being around when she goes into labor, especially now with Hershel outa commission for the time being. Its jus not the best idea right now Dare" I sighed and leaned into his shoulder.

We sat side by side in the watch tower looking out at the walkers lining the fences. They weren't a problem for now but I had a feeling we would have to take care of them before they pile up.

"well that's why yer gonna have one of those teachin sessions with Carol n Beth tonight after supper...jus let em know what they gotta do incase Lori pops while we're gone. Ya'll been preparin for this the past three months now, they must have some knowledge on…the whole process" he said, and he started biting his thumb halfway through.

The way he shifted in his seat slightly I knew the subject embarrassed him. I reached out and grabbed his hand away from his mouth, pulling it down to his lap as I entwined our fingers together.

I wanted to bring up the fact that I would've been about ready to "pop" too, but it would jus bring up painful emotions.

"Ya can face a whole herd of the walking dead but the idea of child birth is too much for ya to handle? N ya can handle bein covered head to toe in walker guck n god knows what for weeks but the thought of a woman going through the most natural thing on the planet has ya uncomfortable?" I snickered at him and he sent me a glare outa the side of his eye.

Refusing to turn his head to look at me straight on, I just continued to look at him with an easy going smile planted on my face.

"N ya call yerself a man Daryl Dixon?" I added playfully pushing him with my shoulder.

I heard the growl emanate from his chest, I looked up at him innocently before he leaned over and kissed me. It all happened in less than a second and it took me a moment to get my bearings in order before I responded to his kiss.

I wounded his ego and he wanted to prove not only to me but to himself that he wasn't afraid of nothin. Though I knew more than anyone that Daryl Dixon was practically the definition of the word man, I knew that it would get a rise outa him.

"Wan' me ta prove it to ya Darlin?" he drawled into my ear before he kissed a pathway down to my collar bone. The sound of his voice alone sent shivers down my spine in the most wonderful way and the feel of his lips set my body on fire.

My tank top strap having long ago fallen off my shoulder, he had a lot of my skin exposed for his and my own pleasure.

"I take it back…"I gasped when I felt his hand run up my thigh and stop over my center.

After we finally…"got physical" again last night it set something off inside of us. We both wondered why we waited so long again, even in the close confines of the prison we managed to make a little private section of our own in the warding's office last night.

"We should stop" he muttered as his lips left my skin, I knew I'd have another hickey.

I whined in protest but I knew he was right…our shift wasn't a long one and I knew he would be beyond embarrassed if someone walked in on us.

"Hey…jus think, maybe when we're out there we can find a nice place to lock down for one night, ya can be as loud as ya want" he winked before he kissed me one more time. We've actually never got to be together like that when we were completely alone before.

"Tempting, Daryl…very tempting. We'll see how Carol n Beth take tonight's lessons 'fore we get our hopes up though" I sighed leaning heavily into his side.

We went back to me leaning on him while we looked out into the fields and past the fences lined with walkers while our hands stayed linked together on his lap. Besides the fact that we almost lost one of our own today, it had been a pretty good way to end the day.

Sitting there with my man watching the sun start to set, the rest of our family doing their own things inside the safety of the prison walls. Hershel starting his journey to recovery, and Carol and Beth cooking somethin up while Lori totters around doing what she can with her big belly.

Everyone else was probably resting after the long day we had or they were having a meeting on what the plan was for tomorrow. Usually the meetings were before supper…then we could all just turn in for the night after we ate, if there wasn't anything else to do after supper that is.

I wish I could just head straight to bed after I ate…but I needed to teach Carol and Beth more things, especially with Hershel outa the game for now. Maybe I'd even see if Maggie wanted to sit in on tonight's lesson.

* * *

**alright, so I haven't proof read any of these chapters I'm posting now... I just wanted to get them out for u guys... lol hope its not too terrible.**


	6. Perfect

**Chapter 6: Mornings**

* * *

"Samara"

I shifted in my sleep slightly, hearing him whisper my name in my ear once again I smiled as I slowly began waking up more.

"Wake up, baby. Gotta git ready to head out" as he talked his breath tickled my ear and then I felt his lips press light kisses on my neck.

I shivered and pressed my backside into his front a little bit more, enjoying the feeling of waking up in his arms once again. This was something I would never ever get tired of.

I groaned in protest cause I knew I had to get up and go check on Hershel before we left, I had to make sure Beth was gonna be alright with me leaving. I knew Carol would be alright with it…but I could tell last night that Beth was apprehensive bout the whole thing.

"I gotta go check on my patient" I said as I moved to sit up and stretch, moaning when a few muscles popped in my back.

"We're outa here in 15, a'right?" he said running his hand along my back when he sat up and leaned over to me.

I nodded and grabbed my pants off the floor to slip them back on, after I checked on Hershel I'll have to come back n look for a shirt to put over my tank top…but other than that all I needed was my weapons and my boots.

"Oh are we takin the truck? Or the bike?" I asked before I left our little warding's office. The two cots Daryl brought up here for us took up a lot of the space…but it wasn't like we had a lot of stuff.

"Dunno, have to decide on that" he shrugged rubbing the back of his neck as he sat on the side of our bed. I tried not to be distracted by his broad shoulders or his naked chest… but it was hard to do when he looked that damn good.

I cleared my throat and nodded, he caught me ogling his body and just smirked at me. My cheeks turned red slightly and I turned and left before I ended up just climbing back into bed with him.

We had work to do, maybe if we were lucky we'd find a good place to stay tonight and we could fully be together without havin to worry about anyone hearin us.

* * *

**(Time jump to the next day, out on their run)**

"do ya think we woulda met if the world didn' end?" I asked as I lazily drew patterns around Daryl's naked chest, every once and a while playing with the little bit of chest hair he had.

"Dunno…maybe we woulda bumped into each other at a huntin shop, or in a bar in Atlanta somewhere" he chuckled lightly.

This was the most carefree either of us has ever been in a long time, we didn't have anyone else but ourselves to worry about right now. We built a barricade against the hotel room door and made sure absolutely nothing could get in without us knowing.

We had the honeymoon suite in some random hotel, we raided all the mini fridges and ended up with a relatively decent supper to go along with the rabbit and squirrel we caught on the way here.

Both Daryl's and my duffle bags were almost completely full with things we found, huntin and fishin gear, some canned food n even more medical supplies we took from a couple bathrooms in the few houses we looted. For a day's worth of work it wasn't a bad haul.

We ended up taking the bike but now we both wished we had taken the truck…it was gonna be a hard trip back with us loaded down with all the supplies, especially the fishin rods.

It was mornin now, but neither of us dared move an inch outa the bed. It felt like if we got up the spell would be broken. The whole world was this room and there was only Daryl and I left…I never wanted to leave this bed. After last night I can honestly say I never slept so well in my whole damn life.

After we had our morning fun we stayed in bed just talking, about anything and everything really… and now we still didn't wanna get up. It had to be mid-morning by now, the sun slipped through a little crack in the curtain letting me know it was another hot Georgia day.

"Well we're pretty much loaded up to the hilt on the bike now…should we jus head back? It doesn't feel right leavin em for much longer….what if Lori needs me? Or Hershel" I said breaking our reverie.

Daryl sighed heavily but nodded, it was nice to get out of the fences for once…but it wasn't smart to leave the prison when I was needed there most right now.

We got to work as a team again n kill some walkers and gather supplies from houses and this hotel like we've done before, I've been to this town with Glenn before so I knew the stores were already picked clean…the houses however still held a couple surprises in them fortunately.

After we got everything packed onto the bike like a jigsaw puzzle we were off again, it was probably around 11oclock so I had to guess we'd be back home by noon.

* * *

**(Back at the prison)**

We were just pulling up so Daryl stopped the bike so I could go open the gate for us, we still haven't set up a better system for this yet but we were working out ideas for now.

I looked around and I could see Rick and Glenn were doing something with the fences over on the other side, there were people up in the court yard… I couldn't quite tell who from over here but it looked like everyone was outside.

Hershel had a pair of crutches, I could tell that much. I smiled and waved before I got to work unhooking the gate.

My hands froze and I almost had a heart attack when a gunshot echoed around the area, more fallowed and my eyes shot upwards. Walkers, they were screaming that there were walkers.

I could hear Rick yelling for Lori, I looked to see they were running now, trying to get up to our family.

I looked back at Daryl and he motioned for me to open the gate, we needed to get up there too. We couldn't lose anyone, not after everything we've been through together.

I yanked the gate open enough for the bike to fit through, making sure to secure it good before I ran over to hop on the back of the bike again, we had one more gate to open before we got to everyone.

The deafening sound of the guns going off still filled the air and I could hear people yellin.

_Why couldn't we ever get one fucking break around here?_

* * *

**damn... so I jus realized these chapters r all kinda vague, not much detail... I promise to make the next ones better.**

**sorry about these ones, hope u guys didn't mind them. i'm TRYING to move forward with the timeline as well...so lets see how Samara handles the events that are about to unfold :)**

**review people! I may be away again for a long time, but I promise that this isn't the end of this story, I will let u guys know a head of time when the last chapter will be :P**

**u'll have time to come to terms with it lol**


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